Finalists battle to the end

Niskayuna rallies to earn tie with CBA in rematch of 2018 Section II Class AA final

Coaches, no matter the sport or the level of competition, always want their players to provide maximum effort. Tuesday afternoon, the Christian Brothers Academy and Niskayuna boys' soccer teams met in a rematch of their 2018 Section II Class AA final. When the contest concluded, energy reserves had been exhausted.

Two of the area's premier squads pushed each other to the limit, and then some, in a game offering ample twists and turns. In the end, the Brothers and Silver Warriors settled for a 2-2 tie in Suburban Council action.

"We will definitely be seeing them later this season. We will be looking forward to that," Niskayuna senior defender Oscar Mirkovic said.

Following a team meeting on the field after the game, Mendrysa simply shook his head twice in disgust before getting up to pack up his gear. Roughly fifty feet away, many of Niskayuna's players were also trying to come to grips with just how the 100 minutes of action had unfolded.

The Brothers and Silver Warriors both felt they left opportunities to prevail on the field.

"That was a good back and forth game," Niskayuna coach Terrence Sloan said. "In the first half, we held the possession advantage. In the second half, they came right out after us."

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1of10Niskayuna's Alex Dellaratta, left, defends against Christian Brothers Academy forward Jack Mendrysa, right, in the first half on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron2of10Christian Brothers Academy forward Jack Mendrysa, center #9, celebrates with teammates after scoring in the second half against Niskayuna on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union3of10Niskayuna midfielder Toby Goldner, center, celebrates with teammates Nick Viggiani, left, and Jordan Angrist, right, after scoring in the first half against CBA on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union4of10Christian Brothers Academy forward Paul Abatiello takes a celebratory run up the sideline after scoring early in the second half against Niskayuna on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union5of10Niskayuna's Jackson Bishop, #10 right, celebrates with teammates after scoring on a penalty kick in the second half against CBA on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union6of10CBA goalkeeper Dan Kelly is scored on by Niskayuna's Jackson Bishop on a penalty kick in the second half on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union7of10Niskayuna's Alex Dellaratta defends against Christian Brothers Academy forward Jack Mendrysa in the first half on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union8of10Niskayuna goalkeeper Brennan Piper comes out to block Christian Brothers Academy forward Jack Mendrysa in the first half on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union9of10Christian Brothers Academy forward Paul Abatiello takes a celebratory run up the sideline after scoring early in the second half against Niskayuna on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union10of10Niskayuna midfielder Toby Goldner takes a shot at the CBA goal in the first half on Tuesday, Sept.17, 2019, at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron

Niskayuna (3-0-1 overall, 3-0-1 league) led 1-0 at intermission on a goal from Toby Goldner. The Brothers (6-0-1, 4-0-1) went into attack mode immediately to open the second half. Mendrysa had a shot blocked, but teammate Paul Abatiello fired home his sixth goal of the season with 37:19 remaining in regulation play.

Mendrysa kept the pressure on and it paid dividends again with 33:51 left in the second half when he broke inside the goal box from the right and rifled home a blast inside the left post for his team-high seventh goal.

"We just had to change our mentality real quick," Mendrysa said. "I just don't think overall we played how we are. Getting those two goals was great, but we let down again."

Tuesday's contest offered up an added level of intrigue for Mendrysa, who played at Niskayuna through his sophomore year. He scored the winning goal in the Class AA final last fall to help provide the Brothers their first sectional championship.

"The sectional final last year was a real emotional game," Mendrysa said. "I know every single one of those kids. They are all of my friends and my teammates at CBA know that. Any time we play Niskayuna, we are always trying to come out on top.

"He is their offense: he is the feeder and he is the finisher. I wish he was on our sideline still," Sloan said of Mendrysa. "Jack is a fantastic player and is ultra dangerous. You have to know where he is at all times. If you don't, he is either going to score or set someone else up for a quality chance."

Niskayuna fought to contain Mendrysa the rest of the way.

Jackson Bishop later created a scoring opportunity that helped the Silver Warriors tie the game.

Bishop ended up getting taken down inside the goal box and a penalty shot was awarded. He calmly placed his shot inside the left post with 24:18 remaining in the second half.

"He has been our stone-cold finisher this year," Sloan said of Bishop. "He's got four goals on the season and they have all been huge goals."

Both teams created some threatening opportunities to score in the two 10-minute overtime periods, yet a goal did not materialize.

"We got a point at least today," Mirkovic said. "We held strong in overtime."

"Our first three minutes in overtime were very suspect, but we settled in after that," Sloan said. "I think this game serves as a positive for us."

James Allen has covered Section II athletics since 1989. He also works as a broadcaster for local radio and television outlets. He joined the Times Union in 2006. He covers high school sports. Contact him at (518) 454-5062